Originally posted by thumper:
<strong>Roy, why do you think he mediocre? Why not try the younger guys like Webber/Nardiello/Richardson etc. Given the games and the service they'd be getting any of them would score bagfuls. Give them a go, we could have a new Michael Owen on our hands.</strong><hr></blockquote>
We could but we don't unfortunately..
I've seen plenty of Webber..
He's very pacy and has some good moves but he is a poor, poor finisher and he tends to drift in and out of games too much..he'd make a good PL striker and we will make decent (2-3 million quid prolly) profit on him because he's better than the players we've had and sold til now (i.e Healy)..he's not good enough to be a regular for us tho..
Jimmy Davis is a bit better, he can play up front or on the right and this should be his season, if not, then he should go..he's got a decent bit of pace about him and he is excellent on the ball and turns up with a good number of goals from midfield..should improve his passing tho..I'd put him on the bench a few times or give him a go when we're short for cover on the right..don't think he's good enough to be a regular striker for us but he could be good back-up on the right..quite a determined and hard-working player, which will help him..
Nardiello is a good player, very, very confident, good finisher, a "natural" finisher as they say..he's good in the box and is a real poacher but I don't know if his all-round play is good enough for us..he is not that pacy and his hold-up game is not quite good enough..reminds a bit of Robbie Fowler perhaps..can't see him making it at United to be honest..we should make a good 2-3 million pounds profit on him as well me thinks..
Richardson is an excellent prospect and a lot better than the 3 mentioned above..he was born 1984 so still quite young (3 years younger than Webber, 2 years younger than Davis and Nardiello) but he has bags of skill. He is incredibly pacy and agile,is excellent on the ball and has a cracking shot. He is quite left-footed but can also use his right to good effect and is a good crosser with both feet. This season is perhaps too early for him with regards to the PL (he wasn't even a regular for the reserves last season) but he should make his debut in the Worthless Cup I would assume..His biggest problem at the moment is being a bit quite skinny..he needs to work a lot on his strength and if he will then we will have an excellent left-winger on our hands..
Fletcher is another one I rate very highly, I am quite certain he will make it. He's something of a David Beckham only with a lot more skill on the ball. Not saying he will be as good or better as his passing skills, etc surely aren't as good yet but he does possess quite a list of talents. He is tall, has good pace for his height, is fantastic on the ball and has superb vision. He is a good passer and crosser of the ball and can hit a good shot from distance as well. He is a very intelligent player and an excellent prospect. Again, work at the gym is needed here as well.
Mads Timm the Danish youngster we've got is another one who I think could make it. He's suffered a serious injury towards the end of last season (anyone know anything about his recovery?) but should be back for this one. I don't know what kind of injury it was or how it would affect him but pre-injury I thought he was an excellent prospect. I thought he was fast, skillful, imaginitive and an excellent finisher. He was quite versatile as he could play with both feet to good effect, as well as play in midfield and in attack. If the injury hasn't affected him then I think we can expect good things from this lad as well.
As well as the latter 3 I've heard some good things about the goalie we've signed this summer Luke Steele, about Kyle Nix, an attacking midfielder who plays for the U-17s, about Ramon Calliste, a Welsh striker also playing for the U-17s, about Amadou Kouman, French youngster who played for the U-16s last season and I also think David Fox, the captain of the U-19s last season, has a decent chance of making it.
